Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume1 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 6===

The Elite girl held the control column within the cockpit of the Baby Magnum, one of the Objects that was synonymous with war.

Special talent was required to pilot one of those giant weapons.

However, this talent was not some strange psychic power. What was needed was an exceedingly high proficiency in skills anyone could develop such as memory, calculation ability, multitasking, and situational awareness.

An Object was a giant weapon that controlled over 100 weapons at once.

As such, just managing the targeting data required being able to process hundreds of pieces of data at once. The weapons also had secondary target functionality (multiple targets could be locked onto and the sights could be switched between them at any time), so using an Object’s abilities to their fullest required following 300 or 400 enemies at once.

And that was only for controlling the weaponry.

To fully understand every function of the 50 meter Object was more than even a natural genius could handle. Only an Elite who had his or her data processing ability raised to the limit was able to pilot an Object.

To alleviate this problem, some armies had tried dividing the control among a large crew and some companies had used an AI to simplify the work required.

However, using a large crew created a time lag for communication between parts of the Object which led to defeat from an Object that was piloted by a single Elite who could make decisions instantly. When an AI was used, the AI would be unable to respond to any situation unfamiliar to it and therefore was unable to keep up with the flexible strategies of an Elite.

While it was possible solutions to those issues would be found in the distant future, it was currently more practical and more productive to use a single Elite to pilot an Object.

Just as the Elite girl was firing her large coilguns at the enemy Tri-Core, she received a transmission from an ally.

“Thi…Quenser. We…curr…Tri-Core…deck!”

It was a voice she had longed to hear.

Strength entered her small hands as they held the control column.

“…switch your weapon…short time whi….escape. Please switch…WL3B…! I repeat, switch…WL3B…!!”

[[Image:Heavy_Object_v01_196.jpg|thumb]]

However, the signal was so bad it was hard to tell what he was saying.

The Elite girl tilted her head in confusion.

Apparently Quenser had made it onto the Tri-Core’s deck and was asking the Elite girl for cover fire. …However, the crucial weapon code had not made it through intact.

(WL3B…That would be something from the laser system.)

“Hmm…” the girl thought.

She did not have much time. The longer she took, the greater the risk of Quenser and whoever was with him being in real trouble. Pressed for time, the Elite girl made the following decision.

(I have a feeling he said WL3B2… Yeah, that had to be it!!)

She nodded once and reached for the switch to change weapons.



A sound like evaporating water reached Quenser’s ears.

It was coming from the princess’s Object.

Specifically, it was coming from a part on the surface of the spherical body that looked like a planetarium lens. Hundreds of laser beams then shot from it like a folding fan pointed forward. The orange lines this made were likely created by the dust or moisture in the air being burned.

It was the WL3B2 which was known as the Killer Squall.

It was a secondary weapon meant to annihilate flesh and blood soldiers defending a base rather than to defeat another Object.

However…

“Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!?”

While raising a shout against the scene before them, Quenser and Heivia rolled across the top of the float to escape. As they did, the many optical weapons burned across the Tri-Core’s surface.

None of the lasers pierced into the Object, but the areas of the surface struck were locally heated up like a frying pan. The cranes used for oil drilling were burned off and the few relentless soldiers who had continued to chase Quenser and Heivia from the other float practically exploded.

“What the hell!? I asked for the WL3B1s, so why is she using the WL3B2 system!? Is that princess trying to kill us!?”

“Look, hero. Isn’t there something odd about the princess’s Object!?”

When Quenser looked over at Heivia’s insistence, he saw one of the arms stretching from the Baby Magnum’s back shaking left and right as if following some kind of prey.

If they had looked at it calmly, it may have looked more like a cute feminine gesture of greeting, but they were anything but calm given the situation.

“D-dammit! Is it just me or is she aiming this way!? She’s even making slight adjustments back and forth!!”

“So we really are just expendable pawns! Screw that, I’m not gonna die here!!”

As the deadly anti-personnel lasers rained down from above, Quenser and Heivia pulled together the little amount of courage they had left and stood up. They were not facing the depths of the Tri-Core. Instead, they ran as quickly as they could toward the sea that was spread out around the Object and leapt into it, completely abandoning all of their professional duties.

No great splash was heard.

They had jumped from the Tri-Core while it was moving at around 200 kph and were pushed by the side effects of its great hovercraft-like wind that was spread out around it. Quenser and Heivia skipped a few times across the surface of the water like a flat stone thrown into a river before they finally crashed through the surface.

A tremendous explosive noise rang out.

In no time at all, they had ended up over 150 meters from the Tri-Core.

Immediately afterwards, the two Objects once again started an all-out battle between their main weapons. They had gotten a good distance from the Tri-Core, but the vibrations that spread through the ocean waters felt as if they would shake their bodies apart.

“I’ve had enough! There’s no way we can keep up with a battle like this!!” shouted Quenser half in tears when he finally made it back above the surface.

Heivia desperately shouted from nearby, “Hey, you set up a few of the explosives before, right!? Detonate them already!! We almost died setting them up, so we have to get something out of them!!”

“Okay, partner!! This is the crystallization of our efforts!!”

Getting oddly energetic as well, Quenser unhesitatingly transmitted the detonation signal.

Immediately afterwards, crimson flames flew into the air.

One of the cylindrical oil tanks attached to the Tri-Core’s float had exploded.

The shockwave spread out evenly and struck Quenser and Heivia. Their heads were knocked under the water’s surface and they desperately made it back up like they were part of a strange game of Whac-A-Mole.

“Ueh…Shit. It just came back and hit us…”

“But doesn’t destroying that tank we’d been using as a shield count as strategic damage? After all, their objective is to carry that crude oil to an enemy base.”

“Wait a second… Even if it’s a strategy to cut off their supplies, was that really okay? I mean, won’t the oil wreak havoc on the sea?”

“I’m sure the higher ups predicted something like this would happen and have already put together a means of dealing with it. Dedicated work ships will probably go out and suck it all up after the battle’s over. If they insist we bring them all the stolen oil, we can just throw them into the sea and tell them to deal with it themselves. …Right now, I’m more interested in what happened to the Tri-Core itself.”

They then looked over at the Tri-Core that had black smoke rising from it.

They did not look pleased.

“Shit. That damn Object is perfectly fine!!”

“Yeah, I see no sign of damage to the floats. Damn, how are we supposed to sink that thing!? Is it even possible with the explosives we were given!? Dahh!! I just want to chuck it all at the thing and get the hell out of here!!”

That was when Froleytia approached them aboard a lifeboat with a small motor aboard. She took a small bite out of a piece of cheese most likely from the emergency rations and gave no sign of caring that her adult underwear could be seen through her wet uniform.

“Well, there is a chance you two might actually get out of here.”

“Froleytia!? Where have you been this whole time!?”

“Where did you find that lifeboat!? And what’s with that cheese!? Do they keep that aboard the lifeboats!? It looks way better than the rations we usually eat! I wish I got that kind of food!!”

Froleytia moved the conversation along, ignoring the two shouting idiots.

“What I told you to do was to damage the Object while we waited for the princess to show up. After blowing up that tank, our role is over. Now we just have to pass the baton over to the princess. If we wait around for a rescue helicopter, we just have to grab onto the rope, get dragged up, and fly straight for land.”

“…Assuming the helicopter isn’t knocked out of the sky due to the insane battle over there,” muttered Heivia.

The Tri-Core had moved away from them in order to engage the princess in battle, but the range of an Object’s cannons are measured in kilometers, so they were not exactly safe.

Meanwhile, a large military helicopter approached from the land's direction. The Tri-Core’s radar would of course have seen it, but it made no attempt to shoot it down. It was likely giving no attention to every little transport helicopter in order to focus on battling the Object the princess was piloting. It had already been well proven that normal soldiers, tanks, and fighters could not damage an Object. It would have been pathetic indeed to get hit by the princess’s powerful main cannons while trying to shoot down a harmless fly.

The helicopter flew to a spot directly above Quenser and the others as the two boys treaded water. While it hovered about 10 meters up, a wire like those used by rescue teams was dropped straight down.

Froleytia said, “Sorry, but let’s do this by order of rank. If I don’t get aboard first, some complete stranger could very well label you two as subordinates so afraid for their lives that they ignored military regulations.”

“If you show any sign of pulling up the wire before we’re aboard, I’ll stick a fuse in this Hand Axe and throw it into the helicopter,” Heivia said with a completely serious expression.

Quenser stared off into the distance where the two Objects were fighting. The princess was making quick movements left and right to throw off her opponent’s aim and the Tri-Core was attacking with its giant railguns while moving clockwise. There was no guaranteed winner in a battle between Objects. Who was on the offense and who was on the defense would move back and forth, giving the battle the same kind of tension as the last 10 minutes of a world cup match tied at 0.

“Don’t zone out like that, Quenser!! It’s your turn!!”

That shout from above brought Quenser back to his senses. He looked up and saw that Heivia and Froleytia were already inside the transport helicopter. Heivia was leaning out of the open door.

“What, do you want to stay behind and do some extra studying as a battlefield student!? A stray bullet could come this way at any time, so we can’t stick around any longer!!”

Quenser frantically grabbed at the thick wire hanging nearby. A large motor started winding up the wire and Quenser was quickly brought up into the air.

After about 30 seconds, he was all the way up.

To steady the wire and his body that was shaking with it, Quenser placed his feet on the edge of the floor of the helicopter. The helicopter must have been originally intended for rescues during naval missions because inside it were diving suits, oxygen tanks, tools such as wrenches and drills that used compressed air to function underwater, and something called an aqua scooter that looked like a kickboard with a motor attached.

“Okay, we’re all aboard! Get us out of here as quickly as possible!!” said Froleytia loudly in the direction of the cockpit.

The helicopter tilted forward and started moving away from the battle between Objects.

“What a mess,” Heivia muttered as he looked down at the sea.

Around the two rampaging Objects, countless pieces of wreckage were scattered about. That wreckage was all that remained of the offshore maintenance base zones like the one Quenser and the others had been supposed to wait aboard.

“They may have been hastily constructed, but there were 20 or 30 of those things. And yet now there’s nothing left that’s staying afloat properly. Everything but the base of the pillars is at the bottom of the sea.”

“Luckily, most of the soldiers managed to jump into the sea just after the Tri-Core began its attack. That’s why so many rescue helicopters have been sent out.”

Quenser could see 40 or 50 helicopters in the direction he was looking. Most likely, as many as possible had been gathered from nearby naval ports and bases. Not all of them were dedicated rescue helicopters. Transport and reconnaissance helicopters could be seen mixed in. They were hovering and using wires to pick up soldiers floating in the sea like how Quenser and the others had been.

“I can’t believe so many survived…” Heivia muttered.

While wiping seawater from her long kanzashi-style hairpin, Froleytia sighed and spoke.

“Objects are synonymous with war after all. Even if you linked together 10 nuclear aircraft carriers and set up a 40 meter cannon, you would not be able to defeat those monsters. Look at those movements. Not even a mixed martial arts champion can pull off footwork like that.”

After determining when the enemy would fire from the minute movements of its cannons, the princess’s Object made small, quick movements to avoid the railgun shots and return fire. The Tri-Core had realized it could not completely avoid getting hit, so it was deliberately facing its thicker armored areas to the front to avoid a fatal blow.

Just as Froleytia had said, it looked like a detailed martial arts match rather than a battle between tanks or battleships.

“Chaff or flares will not throw off their aim and hiding behind cover and using ranged attacks will not protect you. Even in a wide open battlefield like this, they can defend against and avoid attacks from main cannons that move at almost Mach 10. How are tanks or fighters supposed to take them on?”

Suddenly, Quenser practically pushed Heivia out of the way as he leaned out of the open door.

“Wait a second. Something’s odd about the princess’s movements!”

“What do you mean? It’s the same impossible-to-predict battle as ever.”

“No, Quenser’s right,” said Froleytia as she reached for some binoculars from within the helicopter. “The princess has been attacking less often for a bit now. More and more now, she’s not firing when she clearly has an open shot on the Tri-Core.”

“What does that mean?”

“Look at that!!” shouted Quenser as he pointed.

Immediately afterwards, one of the Tri-Core’s railguns fired. The shockwave produced by its nearly Mach 10 speed created a tremendous noise despite the railgun not using any kind of gunpowder to fire.

The Tri-Core was not aiming for the center of the princess’s Object.

The railgun shell was aimed for the end of the princess’s main cannons.

“…It’s decided this is going to be a long battle and is trying to wear down her attack power,” said Quenser with a groan. “The Object is covered in thick nuclear shelter-like armor, but the very end of the gun battery is different. …If I recall, one of the best strategies against an Object without using one yourself is to use a weapon that creates as much heat as a nuclear weapon and uses that to distort the shape of the Object’s weapons.”

Of course, an Object had over 100 weapons. Even if a normal army used a nuclear weapon, they would only be able to “distort” 20 or 30 percent of those. Since even one active weapon remaining would be enough to wipe out an army, that was not enough to utterly destroy an Object.

But what if that strategy was used in a battle between Objects?

Both giant Objects were covered in solid armor and the weapons the enemy could use to penetrate that armor were limited. Even if an Object had 100 weapons, only the main weapons could destroy another Object.

So what if all of the weapons that could destroy an Object were destroyed?

“Shit!! She’s gonna lose at this rate!!” shouted Heivia.

Quenser was a student who had studied the designs of Objects and Heivia was an analyst who searched for characteristics and weaknesses of enemy Objects from data gathered on the battlefield.

That was why they understood.

The princess’s Object was still fighting, but 5 of its 7 main coilguns had already been made useless. It was clear that, before long, all of the main weapons would be unusable.

Quenser watched the princess’s Object as it was driven further and further into a purely defensive battle. His gaze then dropped to his own hands. The higher ups had supplied him with a large amount of the plastic explosive Hand Axe in order to damage the Tri-Core as much as possible.

“Hey, wait.” A stiff smile appeared on Heivia’s face when he noticed Quenser staring at the explosives. “I think I know what you’re thinking, but wait. It’s impossible.”

“The princess will be sunk at this rate,” said Quenser as he leaned even further out the door in order to check on things outside. “I have to give her some help before she loses for sure.”

“You’ll be killed! And we already did quite a bit!! That Tri-Core is enough of a monster to be fine even after we climbed up on its deck, set explosives, and blew up that giant oil tank! Just where do you think you’re going to put those explosives on it to damage it!? In fact, just getting near that high speed battle will be enough to crush your body to a paste!!”

“But if I don’t do anything, the princess will die!!” Quenser stared Heivia straight in the eye. “In Alaska, we learned better than we ever wanted to that Objects are synonymous with war. Have you already forgotten the hell that awaits the rest of the soldiers once we lose the Object!? Objects are powerful but not invincible. That means that we can’t just rely on the princess but doesn’t it also mean we might be able to do something about the Tri-Core!?”

“No, stop this! If we approach on this slow helicopter, we’ll be shot down in no time at all!!”

“I never said anything about heading there on the helicopter.”

“Stop, you idiot!! Shit!!”

Ignoring Heivia, Quenser jumped out the open door. From 10 meters up, he reached the ocean surface in only a few seconds. He broke through the surface that felt as hard as concrete and sank deep down into the water.

“Pphah! Dammit!!”

His head burst back above the surface and he looked around while treading water.

The helicopter Heivia and Froleytia were aboard showed no sign of actively supporting him, but it did not just fly off and leave him behind either.

“You softhearted idiots,” Quenser muttered with a smile.

Quenser himself had no intention of facing the Tri-Core head on.

There was no way he could win if he tried to.

No matter how noble a reason one had and no matter how many things one had to protect, an Object would slaughter a flesh-and-blood soldier without hesitation.

There was not even a hint of a chance of things conveniently working out if you tried hard enough or a miracle occurring if you fought desperately enough.

However, Quenser had learned something in Alaska.

He ''did not have to'' face the Object head on.

He could circle around to the back.

The element that would make the impossible possible was not strength. It was brains. He had to worry over everything as much as he could, think as hard as he could, and find some means, method, or technique with which he could defeat the enemy. Only if he thought everything through to the very last second rather than charging in desperately could he achieve an unthinkable victory.

While treading water, Quenser spoke to Heivia through his radio.

“Now then. It’s time to find a weakness. That giant Object has three reactors rather than the usual one, so maybe there’s some kind of shortcoming there.”

“You idiot. Weaknesses aren’t that easy to find. That Object was made exclusively to be used in naval battles. Unlike a Composite Multi-Role one like the princess’s, it has no design blind spots when it’s on the water. That monster was designed so it wouldn’t.”

“It was designed for naval battles… But then…”

Quenser thought as he swam a bit in the direction of the battling Objects.

(But then its movements seem a little too monotonous… Almost as if it isn’t used to fighting…)

As he watched the Tri-Core turn to the right as it followed the arcing path of the princess’s Object, Quenser suddenly stopped swimming and spoke into the radio.

“Wait… Didn’t the Tri-Core only ever turn to the right before, too?”

“Ahn?”

“Ever since the battle began, the Tri-Core has ''only been turning to the right''! It’s moved slightly to the left in emergencies, but it hasn’t curved any large amount to the left this entire time, has it!?” Quenser said quickly due to his own idea making him feel impatient. “It hasn’t turned left even once from the moment it tried to crush us with its shark anchor!! When it was attacking the half-destroyed base from pointblank range, it should have just rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise, whichever way would bring one of its cannons in range fastest. However, it never once rotated counter-clockwise. No Object specialized for naval battles would lack a basic ability like that!! Something must have happened to it to keep it from turning to the left! If we could worsen whatever it is…!!”

“You say something must have happened,” Heivia said dubiously while likely leaning out the helicopter while looking through some binoculars. “But I can’t see anything wrong with it. There’s nothing odd about its floats or air cushion. Its balance is perfectly level. At the very least, nothing is wrong with it that can be seen from here.”

“…”

Something was clearly wrong with it, but Heivia was unable to see anything.

The problem was located somewhere that could not be seen from a helicopter.

So…

“Underwater…?” Quenser muttered. “Hey, drop down that aqua scooter that was in the helicopter. It’s the thing that looks like a kickboard with a motor attached!!”

“Wh-what? If we don’t get out of here soon, the Tri-Core’s continuous right turning will put us in its path!!”

“That’s perfect!! I’ve figured out the Tri-Core’s weakness!!”

“!!”

A hunk of plastic about the size of a small drawer to a steel desk fell from the open door of the helicopter. At the same time, the helicopter quickly left the area because the Tri-Core was quickly headed that way and it was over 50 meters high itself.

Quenser grabbed the round piece of plastic floating in the water and pressed a button to bring out a hair spray can-sized oxygen tank. He put the clear mask that smelled of seawater over his mouth and hit the machine’s ignition switch to start the internal motor.

An aqua scooter was essentially exactly what Quenser had said it was: a kickboard with a motor attached. By diving down using it, he could move through the water much faster than when using only his legs.

“Quenser!! Dive!! The Tri-Core’s headed your way!!” said Heivia over the radio.

Quenser looked over and saw the 150-180 meter weapon sliding sideways toward him. It sped up from 50 kph and the cliff-like float approached at an alarming speed of about 200 kph.

The Tri-Core showed no sign of even knowing Quenser was there.

Not even the smallest of its around 100 weapons turned in his direction.

It was likely focusing on its battle with the princess’s Object. It did not care if a soldier got crushed in the process.

Before, he had somehow managed to escape the Tri-Core by diving down into the water, so he frantically dove down this time as well.

However, this time he was not trying to escape.

He was heading down to cause real damage to the Tri-Core.

As he soured through the seawater, Quenser made it below the Tri-Core. …Or rather, the Tri-Core passed over him as he dove down.

Quenser maxed out the aqua scooter’s thrust so as not to be left behind.

And he stared at a giant structure that had been hidden in the water.

(The shark anchors!!)

As the Tri-Core moved about to toy with the princess, Quenser aimed for the moment it had decelerated the most, let go of the aqua scooter, and grabbed onto the mine-covered net that was caught on the shark anchor. Even then, it was moving at 50 kph. It was like grabbing onto the side of a bus to hitch a free ride.

(…!? Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh!!)

The shark anchor was one of the three steel pylon-like structures that stretched straight down from the three spherical main bodies of the Tri-Core. They acted as the weights that kept the Object’s balance like a self-righting toy. It was a necessary part for an Object that made sharp turns at high speed.

Each of the three shark anchors could extend and retract like a retractable baton. By changing their lengths in accordance with the Tri-Core’s slant, the Object’s center of gravity could be regulated. That way, it would not capsize even when quickly moving using the massive energy produced by its reactors.

The Tri-Core used the hovercraft-like method of having its main body float simply because it could move faster that way. Water resistance could be reduced as much as possible if the ship itself was not in the water.

Even so, it still had those three shark anchors that created a large amount of water resistance.

Why would it do that?

It was because the shark anchors were so important that the Object could not be piloted without them.

However…

(That functionality has been partially sealed due to the “goal tape” net getting tangled up in it.)

The Tri-Core had charged through the net because it had assumed mines would not do any real damage to it. It had been right about that. However, it had not expected for the net to get stuck in the gaps of one of the retractable shark anchors.

Due to that, that one shark anchor could no longer move.

(If the Tri-Core turns to the left too much, it will lose control of its balance and turn over. So as not to take itself out like that, the Tri-Core has been forced to fight the princess while only turning to the right!!)

When he thought about it, the Tri-Core had somehow not felt like an absolutely invincible Object when it had used long distance attacks to destroy the normal base zones Quenser and the others had been on. Normally, it would have charged into the center of the enemy forces and blown everything away in all directions. The reason it had not done so may have been because it was afraid of getting into a situation where it would be forced to turn to the left.

But knowing that made things much easier.

(If losing control of just one shark anchor is that much of a handicap, losing another will completely destroy its balance!!)

That was why Quenser had brought all the explosives he could with him.

He had brought the plastic explosive known as Hand Axe.

He doubted the explosives would be enough to do anything about the tough Object itself, but there was something much easier to use already prepared there for him: the net covered in mines the size of the large balls used in sports festivals. The net had been so torn up that it trailed behind the shark anchor for almost 350 meters like a giant windsock.

Quenser stuck an electric fuse into the Hand Axe and placed it next to the mines.

Using them, he could sink the Tri-Core.

(Okay, that’s all set up…wah!?)

The Tri-Core suddenly turned to the right sending Quenser swinging around. His hand was ripped from the net and the tremendous current created by the giant shark anchor sent him tumbling away through the water.

In no time at all, he was a good distance from the Tri-Core.

However, he had done what he had needed to do.

Quenser kicked his legs to bring his head above water and then removed the clear mask covering his face.

In his hand, he held the radio with which to send the detonation signal to the Hand Axe.

“Here goes!!”

As Quenser stared at the mountain-like presence of the Tri-Core, he pressed the button with his thumb.

A muffled explosion roared and bubbles over 10 meters across burst to the surface from below the Tri-Core.

It did not end there.

Shockwaves did not traverse only through air. The shockwave caused by the explosion rushed out and mercilessly assaulted even Quenser’s body. He doubled over in the water like he had been hit by a body blow.

The impact to the shark anchor supporting the Tri-Core’s balance caused it to stop for an instant while it turned to the right in its chase after the princess’s Object.

“Gh…Cough!?”

“Hey, did you stick the Hand Axe on the shark anchor!?”

“Yeah, and I got the giant mines to blow up with it. This should…”

“You idiot. It isn’t that easy! The Tri-Core has been moving around this whole time after plowing right through that net, setting off plenty of those mines in the process! Setting off more of them with the Hand Axe isn’t going to damage one of those giant shark anchors!!”

The Tri-Core moved one of its weapons.

It finally turned one of its over 100 weapons as if displaying its anger for a small bug that had bitten it.

It was not using one of the main cannons that was aimed at the princess’s Object.

However, anything on the Tri-Core was enough to sink a normal battleship. There was no question as to what would happen to a flesh-and-blood soldier.

“Dammit. The Tri-Core’s gotten serious!! Hey, Quenser, we’ll send out all the chaff and smoke we have, but don’t blame me if it doesn’t work!! It’s impossible to damage those shark anchors with just that kind of explosive!!” said Heivia desperately.

“That wasn’t what I was trying to do,” Quenser replied with a fearless smile on his lips. “I was trying to blow up the net caught on the Object!!”

The explosion Quenser had caused had further torn apart the giant net caught on the shark anchor, causing it to spread out.

The net had spread out like a flag waving in the wind and had entwined itself around one of the other shark anchors due to the very current created by the shark anchors.

Up until then, only one of the three shark anchors had been made useless by having the net wrapped around it.

However, Quenser had caused the net to wrap around a second one. The net made its way into the gaps in the retractable shark anchor, stopping its movements. The Object's ability to maintain its balance was further reduced.

And…